National Native American Heritage Day

Thanksgiving has a fraught history here in the United States. Many people choose to see this national holiday as a time to spend with family and friends. Others are using Thanksgiving as a learning experience to better understand the history of Indigenous people in the United States and how their lives were changed completely when Europeans crossed the ocean.

Today, I’m sharing a few resources that will help you learn more about Indigenous people both past and present. It may open you world to children’s book authors and illustrators you’re unfamiliar with. Adding more diversity to your bookshelf and creating and way to discuss America’s history with your kids.

The first resource I’m sharing is a website called Native Land. This is a really great place to start learning about the tribes that traditionally lived on the land throughout history. The website doesn’t claim to know everything and the creators are actively working with tribes to create boundaries that are accurate.

I also want to point out that the American Indian Library Association (AILA) awards Youth Literature Awards every other year. These titles “honor the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America.”

Youth Literature Awards

Winners:

• Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child (Red Lake Ojibwe), illustrated by Jonathan Thunder (Red Lake Ojibwe)
• Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis (Umpqua/Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde) with Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
• Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee)

Honors:

• Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard (Seminole Nation, Mekusukey Band), illustrated by Juana Martínez-Neal (Peruvian-American)
• Birdsong by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis)
• At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell (Cherokee), illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva/Scots-Gaelic)
• Raven Makes the Aleutians adapted from a traditional Tlingit story, illustrated by Janine Gibbons (Haida, Raven of the Double-Finned Killer Whale clan, Brown Bear House)
• We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell (Cherokee), illustrated by Frané Lessac
• I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day (Upper Skagit)
• The Grizzly Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (“Bret D. Huson,” Gitxsan), illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Métis Nation of British Columbia)
• Surviving the City by Tasha Spillet (Nehiyaw-Trinidadian), illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Métis Nation of British Columbia)
• Apple in the Middle by Dawn Quigley (Ojibwe, Turtle Mountain Band)
• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Debbie Reese (Nambé Owingeh) and Jean Mendoza, adapted from the adult book by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• Reawakening Our Ancestors’ Lines: Revitalizing Inuit Traditional Tattooing gathered and compiled by Angela Hovak Johnston (Inuk), Photography by Cora De Vos (Inuk)

You can also check out additional titles from my Blogging A to Z theme: Indigenous Voices for more great authors to explore!

Header image available on Flickr, taken by Ayrcan.